Los Angeles (AFP) - A US appeals court overturned Wednesday baseball legend Barry Bonds' conviction for giving evasive testimony, in a long-sought judicial victory for the ex San Francisco Giants slugger.
In 2011, a federal court convicted Bonds, now 50, of providing deceptive answers to questions regarding whether he used performance-enhancing drugs to a federal grand jury.
His lawyers said that, even though their client gave rambling, long-winded testimony, he should not be punished for trying to tell the truth about the so-called BALCO steroids scandal.
On Wednesday the Ninth Circuit federal Court of Appeals in San Francisco ruled that "during a grand jury proceeding, defendant gave a rambling, non-responsive answer to a simple question.